Emilio Laguna (Valencia, Spain, 1961) is a PhD biologist specializing in plant conservation. Since 1986, he has worked with the Regional Government of the Valencian Community (Generalitat Valenciana). He currently serves as the Technical Director of the Centre for Forestry Research and Experimentation (CIEF) and was previously the Head of the Plant Conservation Section within the Regional Wildlife Service.

Dr. Laguna is widely recognized as a pioneer in conceptualizing and implementing the technical and legal framework for “Plant Micro-Reserves” (PMRs). He initiated the first PMR network in the Valencian region, which now comprises over 300 legally protected sites. To establish this network and advance forest and plant conservation, he has led seven EU LIFE projects and contributed to more than a dozen other international initiatives (LIFE, Interreg, Erasmus+, etc.) as an advisor, collaborator, or committee member.

He has an extensive academic and professional output, having published over 1.000 works, including articles, books, book chapters, and reviews, with a focus on plant conservation, taxonomy, ecology, ethnobotany, and related botanical subjects. Dr. Laguna has participated in 120 conferences, presenting or co-authoring 400 papers, and has given 150 lectures at symposia and academic courses to promote plant conservation.

Dr. Laguna is an advisor to Planta Europa, coordinator of the steering committee of GENMEDA, a member of the IUCN Mediterranean Plants Specialist Group, and part of several Spanish commissions on nature conservation. He is also an active member of numerous national and international scientific societies. Notably, he was a founding member of the Spanish Society for Plant Conservation Biology (SEBiCoP) and the Ibero-American Society of Biogeography (SIB).

His contributions have been recognized with awards such as the Silver Leaf Award from Planta Europa for excellence in European plant conservation and the César Gómez Campo Award from SEBiCoP in recognition of his lifetime achievements in Spanish plant conservation.

Charalambos Christodoulou is a graduate of the Cyprus Forestry (1988) and the National School of Forestry, University of Central Lancashire (2003). In 2015, he obtained a PhD in Systematic Conservation Planning, at the University of Reading, focusing on the design of reserve areas using threatened species.

He works with the Department of Forests, from 1988 to 1991 at the Management Sector and from 1991 at the Parks and Environment Sector.

In his professional career he has been intensively involved with the study of the flora and vegetation of the island, the establishment and organisation of the Department of Forests’ Herbarium, the in- and ex-situ conservation of threatened and/or endemic plant species, as well as the restoration of important habitats and the management of protected areas. Also, among his research interests is the impact of invasive plant species on the autochtonous communities and their control, especially in ecologically sensitive areas.

He has an active participation in the design and setting up of the Natura 2000 network in Cyprus, as a flora and vegetation expert, as well as the mapping, monitoring and evaluation of conservation status of plants and habitats.
Since 1993, he participated in 15 research and co-funded projects, related to the protection and conservation of threatened species and habitats and the management of Natura 2000 sites.
He co-authored 22 peer-reviewed articles, including the description of plant species new to science and reserve selection methods, as well as the books “Red Data Book of the Flora of Cyprus”, “Trees and Shrubs in Cyprus” and “Flowers of the Eastern Mediterranean”.

He is a co-editor of the online portal “Flora of Cyprus a – dynamic checklist”, which provides information on all species and subspecies of vascular plants occurring in Cyprus.